Longitudinal Cohort Study of the Relationship between Sleep Duration and Depressive Symptoms in Older People in China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between sleep duration and depressive symptoms in older people in China, and to explore whether there are gender differences in the relationship. METHODS: Accessing the data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) for 2015 and 2018, we covered in the study a total of 2898 respondents, including 1684 males (58.1%) and 1214 females (41.9%). The 10-item form of Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure the depressive symptoms of the older people. The effects of sleep duration on depressive symptoms of older people in China were analyzed with the logistic model. Based on the depressive and non-depressive subgroups in 2018, the differences of health factor variables and sleep duration between 2015 and 2018 were studied. Adjustments were made for health factors presenting statistical differences in 2018 to further explore the stability of the analysis results. RESULTS: <0.001), while long sleep duration did not affect the risks for depressive symptoms. In the male older population, short or long sleep duration were not associated with the risks for depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: The association between sleep duration and the risks for depressive symptoms was different for men and women. For the female older population, the possibility of depressive symptoms should be considered for those with short or long sleep duration. For the male older population, short or long sleep duration had little impact on the risks for depressive symptoms.